Technologies

Best Mobile VPN of 2022

Use the best VPN for your mobile device to boost your browsing security.

Whether you prefer to use an Android phone or an iPhone, a top-performing VPN for mobile is a good way to improve your privacy while you’re on the go. The best mobile VPN can help you avoid intrusive, location-based advertising and prevent your internet provider from tracking which sites you visit. It will also give you an extra layer of protection when you’re logging into your personal sites on public Wi-Fi. A bonus is that a VPN comes in handy for dodging restrictions on your favorite streaming services while you travel.

The battle for the best mobile VPN has been ramping up as the industry’s three biggest providers continue to roll out competitive privacy apps for iPhones and Android devices. Apple and Google have both recently broadened their mobile encryption offerings as well. But if you’re serious about your mobile privacy, nothing can take the place of an unaffiliated and independent VPN on your phone. That’s what you’ll find here in our list of recommendations for the best mobile VPN.

Keep in mind that there may be limits to the privacy VPN services currently offer iOS users. According to recent independent research, iOS (and some MacOS) users’ browsing and internet data may be sent to Apple despite the protections offered by an encrypted VPN tunnel. We’ll continue to update our recommendations as more information surfaces around this issue.

This is essentially a subset of our main best VPN list. That’s due to the fact that during our VPN research and hands-on testing process, we closely scrutinize each service’s mobile VPN app experience. While not every service is the best VPN to use with your phone, an increasingly mobile-first approach among most top VPN service providers has, in this case, paid off for subscribers. Most recently, the reigning champions on CNET’s overall best VPN list have made competitive strides with their product’s mobile VPN offering for both Android and Apple devices, and we expect that trend to continue.

For that same reason, this best mobile VPN list currently reflects the same rankings you’ll find on this list of the best iPhone VPNs and the best Android VPNs. If and when a VPN provider offers a mobile client more closely tailored to the environment of either of those phones, you’ll see those changes reflected in their respective directory.

As always, I strongly urge you to avoid free VPNs and instead use a thoroughly tested, paid VPN whenever possible. I’m actively working on more testing and research, so keep checking back. This list will be updated periodically as CNET stays on top of security improvements, user-friendliness, speed rankings and cost value for each of these mobile VPN apps.

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Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Dec. 17

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 17.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Nod (off)
Answer: DOZE

5A clue: Naval submarine in W.W. II
Answer: UBOAT

7A clue: Tricky thing to do on a busy highway
Answer: MERGE

8A clue: Heat-resistant glassware for cooking
Answer: PYREX

9A clue: Put into groups
Answer: SORT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Break up with
Answer: DUMP

2D clue: Falls in line, so to speak
Answer: OBEYS

3D clue: Legendary vigilante who cuts a «Z» with his sword
Answer: ZORRO

4D clue: Rarin’ to go
Answer: EAGER

6D clue: Common reminder for an upcoming appointment
Answer: TEXT

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

You Can Watch an Exclusive Avatar: Fire and Ash Scene on TikTok Right Now

Disney and TikTok partner on an immersive content hub for James Cameron’s latest movie about the alien Na’vi.

If you’re not quite ready to head to the theater to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash, an exclusive scene preview might sell you on the visual spectacle. As part of a new collaboration with the social media giant, Disney is posting snippets of its new movie to its TikTok account.

This scene isn’t part of any trailer and won’t be posted to other social media accounts, making TikTok the only place you can view it — unless you buy a movie ticket. A first look at the new movie’s scenes isn’t the only Avatar-related bonus on the social media platform right now, either. TikTok has partnered with the house of mouse to bring an entire «immersive content hub» to the app.

A special section of TikTok includes quizzes and educational videos that explore the alien world of Pandora shown off in the movies. On TikTok, you can take a personality quiz to find out what Na’vi clan you most closely align with and unlock a special profile picture border to use on your account.

Science and fiction blend together with a series of videos from real doctors who explain the basis for some of Avatar’s world-building. If you want to learn about exoplanets or how realistic the anatomy of the movie’s alien animals is, these videos will feed your brain while still providing entertainment value.

Perhaps the most enticing part of Disney’s latest social media collaboration is the opportunity for fans to win prizes and trips. TikTok creators who make edits with the #TikTokAvatarContest hashtag are entered into a competition to win Avatar merchandise. The biggest winners will be able to take a trip to visual effects studio Wētā Workshop in New Zealand or visit Avatar director James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment Studio in Los Angeles.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third installment in director Cameron’s cinematic passion project. While the first Avatar movie was released in 2009, Cameron didn’t release another entry in the franchise until 2022. In total, there is a five-movie arc planned for the indigo alien Na’vi on the moon of Pandora.

The Avatar movies are known for pushing the boundaries of CGI visual effects in cinema. They are also historically big winners at the box office: the original Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time, earning $2.9 billion across its theatrical releases. Its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, is the third-highest-grossing film of all time, trailing Avengers: Endgame. You can stream those movies on Disney Plus.

It remains to be seen whether Avatar: Fire and Ash will financially live up to its predecessors. The film currently has mixed reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.